Program Quality

Four major factors determine the overall effectiveness of undergraduate programs; Notre Dame's Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering excels in each category.

1. Quality of the faculty

The Chemical Engineering faculty at Notre Dame are active and productive researchers, they have received major awards from such professional societies as the American Society of Engineering Education, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Physical Society, and one is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Many have international reputations as leaders in their research fields and a number have made significant contributions to engineering education. The National Research Council ranks the quality of faculty in the top 25 in the country and in the top 20 in terms of the effectiveness of the Doctoral Program.

2. Quality of the students

Engineering students at Notre Dame are the top group of an overall pool that comprises the 16th most selective University in the Country. Notre Dame undergraduates possess strong academic talent, a true dedication to learning, and extracurricular interests that make our graduates extremely desirable by employers in a diverse range of industries.

3. Commitment by the faculty to educating undergraduates

Undergraduate education has always been important to Notre Dame and to the Chemical Engineering Department in particular. Our undergraduate chemical engineering program was ranked 12th in the most recent Gourman report and was termed "one of the elite programs... " by a review team of external evaluators who recently visited the department. The curriculum is under constant review, and new topics, many from the research efforts of the faculty, are continually added. The courses are fundamental in nature, not aligned towards any specific area of chemical engineering practice, and thus provide a solid basis for all of the different career paths our students pursue. Special emphasis is placed on developing written and oral communication skills, within the chemical engineering curriculum, through the required written and oral reports in the laboratory and design courses. Communication and intellectual breadth are further strengthened by the University Core that requires 2 Philosophy, 2 Theology, 1 History, 1 Social Science and 1 Fine Arts or Literature courses.

4. Overall experience outside of the classroom.

The close-knit nature of student residential life at Notre Dame exposes students to many different views and encourages discussions ranging from the major issues of the time to questions that have challenged humankind for centuries.